The government has separated families for some reason. They won't tell us why, but they are hunting the children down. Finding them and taking them. There's a wall in between the families. Doesn't matter if your the parent or the child, they've separated you.
I sit down next to Tommy in the homeless people circle. I'm probably the youngest here.
"Katie?" Tommy asks, punching my arm. I look up at him. "What do you want."
"They're passing the bucket around. Save the sweet things for me." He growls and I look back at the people passing the bucket around.
"Could I please just have the sweet things for me for once? Besides, they're probably all gone anyways."
Tommy flares his nostrils and snarls. "No. Save it for me." He says and looks away.
When the bucket gets to me there's barley anything in it. A banana that's rotten, a half eaten pizza, a pretzel that looks like a mouse got to it a few days ago, a water bottle that has a ton of water left in it, and a half eaten chocolate bar. I take the pizza, part of the pretzel that isn't eaten, the water, and the chocolate bar, saving part of the pretzel and banana for Tommy. He's the last person in the circle to get anything.
I hide the chocolate bar behind me. I'm saving it for my brother and I to share for desert tonight. Tommy takes out the rotten banana and part of the pretzel. He takes a bite ou of the banana, looks at me like I stole something from him (which I sort of did), gets up and starts walking down the street. So does everyone else, going in different directions to their makeshift homes.
I'm the last person in the ally. I like it here. I feel sort of safe even though it's past midnight. I open up my bag and stuff the food into it and get up. I start walking out of the ally and down the sidewalk to "home."
My little brother Brian comes out of the doorway. We live in an abandoned shop in front of the woods.
"What did you manage to get today?" He asks, hunger in his eyes. I smile. "Let's go inside first and then I'll show you."
We sit on our sleeping bags and I open the bag and take out the food. Brian's eyes turn from excitement to disappointment. "That's not a lot Katie." He sighs. "I know, but..." I say, taking out the chocolate bar. "I did manage to find this." Brian's eyes light up again. "No way..." He says. "And Tommy didn't make you save it for him?"
"Well, he told me to save it..." I smirk and Brian laughs. "Why are you so sneaky?" He asks. "Not sure. What do you want?" I ask, pointing to the food. "The pretzel please." He says grabbing the pretzel. "I'm going to need water for this." He says. I reach into my bag and through him the water bottle. "Share it." I say and pick up my pizza. "Got it." He smiles and takes a bite out of his pretzel. I do the same with my pizza.
+
We eat for a little while and the I split the chocolate bar. "One for you and one for me." I smile and hand the piece of chocolate to him. Brian practically jumps to take it from my hands and stuffs if in his mouth and sighs. "Best. Chocolate. Ever." I eat my half. It melts in my mouth and I sigh too. "We need to get to bed." I say, grabbing the water bottle and taking a sip. "Good idea." Brian yawns and slips into his sleeping bag. I do the same and close my eyes. "I love you." He says in a sleepy voice. "I love you too." I say back and I start dreaming about our real home. I wonder if we should start searching for it.
